The real estate industry is changing. Technology has made it easier to shop for homes, and homeowners and home buyers are doing more and more of the searching. At the same time, real estate commissions have risen dramatically in the bay area in the last ten years. We have done the math and found that we can offer full service, professional representation on a local level for less than traditional real estate brokers are charging. Customers tell us that they still want a knowledgeable real estate agent to provide expertise on the local market and real estate law. We are able to provide that expertise at a significant savings to you. We do not limit our services like discount brokers, and we do not charge high commissions like traditional brokers. Here’s how it works: Buy Traditional brokerages will tell you the seller pays all the commission. Then how come the buyer is almost always the only one to write a check at closing? Don’t kid yourself. If you buy a home, you are paying the commission to your realtor, usually 3%. We rebate ½ of that back to you at closing. Sell We charge a 1.95% commission to sell your home. Most realtors in the Tri Valley charge either 2.5% or 3%. You should still offer a buyer’s agent at 2.5% or more, depending on your home’s value. Paying the market rate for buyer’s agents is important to encourage agents from other brokerages to sell your home. If you sell a home priced at $500,000 using Sidewalk Homes, you would save $5,250*.
*Savings based on Sidewalk Homes listing commission of 1.95% versus 3% traditional listing commission. How does Sidewalk charge less?
We’ve done enough transactions to know how much time and effort it takes us to help clients buy and sell homes. We keep our expenses at rock bottom and still earn a fair profit. The rest we pass onto you.
Consumers are doing more of the legwork. With our ‘new listings email program’, oftentimes clients find new listings online before we do. The amount of time we have to spend on each transaction is far less than it used to be.
Real estate agents get paid based on a percentage of each sale. Given the huge increase in home prices in the bay area over the past 10 years, that percentage has gotten to be a big amount of money. We did the math, and at current prices, our services don’t need to be 3% of the price of a home to provide you full service yet remain profitable.
Traditional real estate brokerages are members of large regional and national franchises and pay large fees for branding and advertising. They also pay for expensive offices that give them exposure. |
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